Correcting Faulty Coordination

Faulty coordination occurs when structures that do not match in form are treated as if they did match in form. Consider this example:

Buying a new car, because thefts are frequent, and your age may make your insurance expensive.

In the example, a writer incorrectly attempts to coordinate a phrase (buying a new car), a clause (because thefts are frequent), and a word (age). To successfully coordinate items, their structures (word, phrase, or clause) must be the same.

To correct faulty coordination, rewrite the structures so that they match. The sentence could be edited in any of the following ways:

ALL PHRASES:
Buying a new car, experiencing frequent thefts, and belonging to the wrong age group may make your insurance expensive.

ALL CLAUSES:
Because new cars are valuable, because thefts are frequent, and because younger drivers pay higher premiums may make your insurance expensive.

ALL WORDS:
Your new car, your risky neighborhood, and your youth may make your insurance expensive.

Which of the following sentences is correct? Choosing my outfit, printing my essay, and relying on my broken clock made me late. Choosing my outfit, since I had to print my essay, and my broken clock made me late.